Jurassic Park III: Alan Grant & Compies

Year of release: 2002

Accessories:

-Two different Compsognathus figures

-Bazooka type weapon (with missile)

Description: this Grant figure stands in a relatively neutral pose, except his left leg is positioned in a forward move and his lower right leg is bent backwards somewhat. The figure sports light blue pants, a white shirt with a brown vest over it, a black belt and brown boots.

The weapon appears to be a bazooka on a tripod: it’s painted in grey, with some metallic dark grey on the front giving the impression it’s been used before. The missile is slightly transparent orange, and resembles a big bolt of fire shooting out of the gun. The firing mechanism is the same as with the guns attached to the human figures in the Wave 1 line: the end of the missile sticks out of the weapon, and pressing it causes the missile to be launched in a not so straight line with minor impact.

The Compies are the most interesting part of this set. There are two of them, each in a different position. The first stands in an attack posture with his mouth opened, like it’s jumping on its prey. The other one takes on a slight stalking pose, like it’s checking out prey. The figures sport the same paint job: both are coloured light green with some small yellow stripes and a large stripe running from the back of the head all the way over the tail. The eyes and claws are black, and a black JP III logo can be found on both figures’ upper left legs. The two creatures are pretty skinny and lightly build: one can see their ribs on either side of their bellies. Both dinosaurs are attached to a support, coloured in the same green as the figures, making them able to stand up straight. The one assuming an attack posture also appears to be standing on a small green rock.

Analysis: this is a fun little set, though not because of the Grant figure. Though the figure doesn’t stand in an outrageously inconvenient position, like a lot of the Wave 1 figures, it’s still not great. The figure again doesn’t resemble Alan Grant much, and the paint job is rather bland. It’s not bad or anything, but not much of an improvement either.

The gun unfortunately sports the same weak firing mechanism as most of the guns in the Wave 1 line. It is however largely redeemed by it’s original and cool look. It looks relatively realistic, and the fact that the missile isn’t really a missile but more of a fireball does give it some credit. It still doesn’t have a great impact when fired, but the most likely target, the Compies, are easily knocked over by it. The paint job, with the darker metallic grey on the front side, gives it some history, like it’s been in combat more than once. The figure can hold the weapon by any of its three feet, but the weapon can also stand on the ground on it’s own. Unfortunately the front side it quite heavy when the gun is loaded, so it tends to fall over at times.

The greatest part(s) of this set are the two Compsognathus figures. Though they don’t exactly stand in a neutral pose, the fact there are two of them greatly helps playability, providing a wider range of possibilities. Having a pair also enhances the group feel these creatures have to them: Compies are after all never alone, but always in a group in order to kill their prey. Having only one Compy figure in the entire TLW line was certainly a mistake, and these two figures make up for it a bit. The paint job is pretty good, and certainly reminiscent of the Compies we saw in the movies. The same goes for the overall physical design of these critters: they certainly look like agile little beings with their skinny, slender bodies. It’s a shame they need supports to help them stand up, but one can live with that flaw. Unfortunately the supports are coloured the same as the figures; it would have been better had they sported a different paint job. But this is once again a minor disappointment.

Playability: good enough. The Grant figure stands in a more neutral pose than most of Hasbro’s human figures. The weapon works decently enough and the fact that it can stand on its own feet also helps. Though the Compies aren’t poseable, it’s good there are two of them: it doubles playability options.

Realism: Grant doesn’t look much like the Grant we saw in JP III. The head sculpts still bears little resemblance, and the outfit is also different. Once again, the infamous cowboy hat is sadly missing. The gun doesn’t resemble any weapon seen in JP III, but it looks more life like than the Wave 1 JP III weapons. The Compies look a lot like the creatures we saw in both TLW and JP III: they’re coloured in a slightly different tone of green and sport yellow stripes the Compies in the movies didn’t appear to have, but their physique makes it unmistakable we’re dealing with the same little devils here. They are a bit oversized though, but it’s understandable: it would be hard to make figures half the size of these. People would probably lose them way too easily then, so this size is more convenient.

Repaint: no. One of the Compies (the one assuming an attack posture) would be repainted for the last JP Dinosaurs line though. The other one wouldn’t however.

Overall rating: 7/10. The figure itself may not be very special, but the dinosaurs are really quite cool, despite their limited playability. The weapon, though hindered by Hasbro’s standard lame firing mechanism, also looks better than most of the weapons of the JP III line. This is just a nice little set, and worth getting. It’s not all that rare in the US, so it shouldn’t be too hard or costly to get your hands on. It’s harder to find in some overseas territories, but fortunately not too difficult to acquire online, and likely worth the effort, you'll find.